The Weekend That Was

Asked whether he could see Gov. Andrew Cuomo on the 2016 ballot, former Gov. Eliot Spitzer said he thinks Hillary Clinton should run and “can’t imagine” there would be a primary if she does.

Spitzer has been critical of Cuomo in the past, but seemed reluctant today to assess how he’s doing in office so far. “I’m learning,” the former governor told reporters.

Also, Spitzer said that if we’re going to have fracking, the federal government needs to step in and regulate it in a “real way” rather than leave that responsibility up to the states or counties.

An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll shows the presidential race tied, with both candidates at 47 percent among likely voters heading into the final weeks of the campaign. (President Obama is up 49-44 among registered voters).

The Akron Beacon Journal (also in Ohio) backed Obama, as it did in 2008. Ditto the Arizona Daily Star and the LA Times, which made the first presidential endorsement in its 127-year history when it backed Obama four years ago.

The NYT also endorsed Gillibrand, calling her a “steady voice of reason in Washington.”

The D&C also endorsed Rep. Kathy Hochul in NY-27, saying she has “worked hard to prove her worth” and the “intransigent, hard-line brand of conservatism” of her opponent, former Erie County Executive Chris Collins, “doesn’t bode well for the compromise needed on Capitol Hill.”

Gillibrand was in NYC today. She spoke at Reverend A.R. Bernard’s Christian Cultural Center, and joined Rep. Jerry Nadler to meet with LGBT leaders to discuss efforts to advance legislation they care about. (No link).

Though Slaughter has outspent Brooks to date, the money is trending toward the county executive.

A new poll shows the NY-24 race continues to be tight, with Democrat Dan Maffei at 46 percent of the vote and Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle at 44, with 6 percent for Green Party candidate Ursula Rozum and only 4 percent undecided.

Unlike the several other Democrats around the state who are in close races against freshman House Republicans, Dan Lamb’s campaign against freshman Republican Rep. Richard Hanna in the redrawn 22nd Congressional District hasn’t caught fire.

The slow pace of contract talks between the MTA and the TWU has prompted criticism of the union’s president, John Samuelsen.

Two independent financial firms say the Marcellus isn’t just the biggest natural gas field in the country, with more reserves than previously believed, it’s the cheapest place for energy companies to drill.

The DN says Cuomo should “demand wholesale reform to the arbitration system that stacks the deck in favor of many public employee unions” before giving legislators a pay raise.

NY-21 GOP hopeful Matt Doheny let a reporter tour his island homes, which have become an issue in the race. His Democratic opponent, Rep. Bill Owens, declined to do the same with his Lake Champlain waterfront abode.

The TU wants Cuomo to address Mayor Jerry Jennings’ doubts about the viability of the Albany convention center project.

Fracking is a key issue in the race between Deputy Senate Majority Leader Tom Libous and his long-shot Democratic challenger John Orzel.